Nonlinear modeling of the ten-story RC building structure of 2015 E-Defense shaking table tests

In 2015, a full-scale ten-story reinforced concrete (RC) building structure was tested on the E-Defense shake table, the recorded test data from which provided a unique benchmark case to validate a state-of-the-art modeling approach. This paper presents the development and validation of a finite element model of the test building structure established on the OpenSees platform. In this model, RC beams and columns were simulated using the fiber-based beam-column element, and shear walls were modeled with the multi-layer shell element. The numerical model provided a reasonable estimate of the observed global responses of the test structure, including peak inter-story drifts and floor accelerations, for the wall direction. The multi-layer shell element effectively tracked the local strain, flexural and shear deformations of RC walls. Although the numerical model reasonably captured responses for the frame direction under base fixed JMA-Kobe 50% shaking, the simulation of RC frames was less accurate for base fixed JMA-Kobe 100% shaking when the test structure experienced significant damage at the maximum inter-story drift of 2.9%. Finally, a couple of important modeling issues for RC structure were discussed, including beam-column joint modeling and damping modeling. Use of the scissors model to represent the beam-column joints led to an improved estimation of the inter-story drifts of stories where the beam-to-column joints experienced severe damage. A transient Rayleigh damping model, in which a tangent stiffness matrix was used to formulate a system damping matrix, was recommended for structural nonlinear response history analysis.